# ἰχθύς
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* ἰχθῦς (ikhthûs)

### Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dʰǵʰu- (“fish”), but the initial ἰ is unetymological and problematic. Compare Old Armenian ձուկն (jukn) and Lithuanian žuvìs.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ikʰ.tʰy̌ːs/ → /ixˈθys/ → /ixˈθis/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /ikʰ.tʰy̌ːs/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ikʰˈtʰys/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ixˈθys/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ixˈθys/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ixˈθis/

### Noun

ἰχθῡ́ς • (ikhthū́s) m (genitive ἰχθῠ́ος); third declension
* fish
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 24.82:ἔρχεται ὠμηστῇσιν ἐπ’ ἰχθύσι κῆρα φέρουσαérkhetai ōmēstêisin ep’ ikhthúsi kêra phérousagoeth down bearing death to the ravenous fishes
** (figuratively) stupid person
*** 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Moralia 2.975b:ὥσπερ αὖ καὶ τῶν βασιλέων Ἀετὸς μὲν ὁ Πύρρος ἥδετο καλούμενος Ἰέραξ δ' ὁ Ἀντίοχος· ἰχθῦς δὲ τοὺς ἀμαθεῖς καὶ ἀνοήτους λοιδοροῦντες ἢ σκώπτοντες ὀνομάζομεν.hṓsper aû kaì tôn basiléōn Aetòs mèn ho Púrrhos hḗdeto kaloúmenos Iérax d' ho Antíokhos; ikhthûs dè toùs amatheîs kaì anoḗtous loidoroûntes ḕ skṓptontes onomázomen.So again, among monarchs Pyrrhus liked to be called an Eagle and Antiochus a Hawk. But when we deride, or rail at, stupid and ignorant people we call them "fish."
** (in the plural) fish market
*** 405 BCE, Aristophanes, The Frogs 1068:κἂν ταῦτα λέγων ἐξαπατήσῃ, παρὰ τοὺς ἰχθῦς ἀνέκυψεν.kàn taûta légōn exapatḗsēi, parà toùs ikhthûs anékupsen.And if he fooled 'em with that story, he'd pop up in the fish market.
** (in the plural) Pisces (constellation)
*** 190 BCE – 120 BCE, Hipparchus, Collected Works 1.2.3
*** 234 CE – 305 CE, Porphyry, Antr. 22

#### Derived terms

* ᾰ̓́νιχθῠς (ắnikhthŭs)
* ᾰ̓πιχθυόομαι (ăpikhthuóomai)
* ᾰ̓πιχθῠς (ăpikhthŭs)
* εὔιχθῠς (eúikhthŭs)
* ἰχθῠ́ᾱ (ikhthŭ́ā)
* ἰχθῠᾰγωγός (ikhthŭăgōgós)
* ἰχθῠάζομαι (ikhthŭázomai)
* ἰχθῠᾰκός (ikhthŭăkós)
* ἰχθῠᾰ́ω (ikhthŭắō)
* ἰχθῠ́βολος (ikhthŭ́bolos)
* ἰχθῠβόρος (ikhthŭbóros)
* ἰχθῠ́βοτος (ikhthŭ́botos)
* ἰχθῠγόνος (ikhthŭgónos)
* ἰχθῡ́διον (ikhthū́dion)
* ἰχθῠδόκος (ikhthŭdókos)
* ἰχθῠεῖον (ikhthŭeîon)
* ἰχθῠήμᾰτᾰ (ikhthŭḗmătă)
* ἰχθῠηρός (ikhthŭērós)
* ἰχθῠῐ̈́ᾱ (ikhthŭĭ̈́ā)
* ἰχθῠῐ̈κός (ikhthŭĭ̈kós)
* ἰχθῠ́κεντρον (ikhthŭ́kentron)
* ἰχθῠμέδων (ikhthŭmédōn)
* ἰχθῠνόμος (ikhthŭnómos)
* ἰχθῠόβρωτος (ikhthŭóbrōtos)
* ἰχθῠοειδής (ikhthŭoeidḗs)
* ἰχθῠόεις (ikhthŭóeis)
* ἰχθῠοθήρᾱ (ikhthŭothḗrā)
* ἰχθῠοθήρᾱς (ikhthŭothḗrās)
* ἰχθῠοθηρευτής (ikhthŭothēreutḗs)
* ἰχθῠοθηρητήρ (ikhthŭothērētḗr)
* ἰχθῠοθηρῐ́ᾱ (ikhthŭothērĭ́ā)
* ἰχθῠοκένταυρος (ikhthŭokéntauros)
* ἰχθῠόκολλᾰ (ikhthŭókollă)
* ἰχθῠολογέω (ikhthŭologéō)
* ἰχθῠολῡ́μης (ikhthŭolū́mēs)
* ἰχθῠόμαντῐς (ikhthŭómantĭs)
* ἰχθῠομετᾰ́βολος (ikhthŭometắbolos)
* ἰχθῠοπρᾱ́της (ikhthŭoprā́tēs)
* ἰχθῠοπτρῐ́ς (ikhthŭoptrĭ́s)
* ἰχθῠοπώλης (ikhthŭopṓlēs)
* ἰχθῠόρροος (ikhthŭórrhoos)
* ἰχθῠοτρόφος (ikhthŭotróphos)
* ἰχθῠουλκός (ikhthŭoulkós)
* ἰχθῠόφᾰγος (ikhthŭóphăgos)
* ἰχθῠόφορος (ikhthŭóphoros)
* ἰχθῠπᾰγής (ikhthŭpăgḗs)
* ἰχθῠπόρος (ikhthŭpóros)
* ἰχθῠσιληϊστήρ (ikhthŭsilēïstḗr)
* ἰχθυστεφής (ikhthustephḗs)
* ἰχθῠφόνος (ikhthŭphónos)
* ἰχθῠώδης (ikhthŭṓdēs)
* κάλλιχθῠς (kállikhthŭs)
* πολῠ́ϊχθῠς (polŭ́ïkhthŭs)
* φῐ́λιχθῠς (phĭ́likhthŭs)

#### Descendants

* Greek: ιχθύς (ichthýs)
* → English: ichthys

### References

* ↑ Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), Bern, München: Francke Verlag (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “which page + entry name?”)
* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἰχθῡς, -ύος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 606-607

### Further reading

* ἰχθύς in Wilhelm Pape's Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache: Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch. 1875. Vol I, pg. 582/1.
* “ἰχθῦς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “ἰχθύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “ἰχθύς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* ἰχθύς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
* ἰχθύς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* “ἰχθύς”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G2486 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited. fish idem, page 323.
* “ἰχθύς”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011